WASHINGTON,
D.C., (April 21, 2011) -Acel Moore, a founder of the National Association of
Black Journalists (NABJ), will receive the organization's Lifetime Achievement
Award, the Board of Directors announced at its spring meeting.

Moore is
a legendary columnist, writer and senior editor, who has had an
amazing impact on American journalism for more than 50 years. He began his
career with ThePhiladelphia Inquirer as a copy
clerk, then became an editorial clerk and worked his way up through
the editing and reporting ranks to become editor emeritus. Moore won the
Pulitzer Prize in 1977 for local investigative reporting for a series on the
abuse of inmates at Fairview State Hospital.

"Acel
has had an impressive career in journalism, spanning decades and achieving
distinction at the highest levels," said NABJ President Kathy Y. Times.
"Founder Moore is a role model and has set the standard for
excellence in our profession; a true giant, he has paved the way for many
others who follow behind him. He is most deserving of our organization's
highest honor."

Moore
will join other top honorees at the association's Salute to Excellence Gala,
scheduled for Aug. 6 in his hometown of Philadelphia during NABJ's 36th Annual
Convention and Career Fair, the largest annual gathering of minority
journalists in the country.

Among
his crowning achievements, Moore is one of the three original founders - with
Claude Lewis and Chuck Stone - of the organization that became NABJ. They
launched the Philadelphia chapter in 1973, and it became NABJ's first chapter
when it was founded two years later. The advocacy organization has grown
into a flourishing national association, impacting the careers of thousands of
black journalists.

Moore
won the Pennsylvania Bar Association Scales of Justice Award in 1970 for a
series on the juvenile court system; the Public Service Award from the Society
of Professional Journalists and an award from the Pennsylvania Associated
Press Managing Editors Association. He also was honored with
NABJ's 2005 Legacy Award.

Additionally,
he has had an impressive career teaching journalism. He has served on the
faculty at the University of California at Berkeley for the school's
summer program for minority journalists; worked as a journalism instructor at
Temple University and Florida A&M University; and has been a journalism
consultant to Northwestern University, Duquesne University, the University
of Kansas and Norfolk State University.

"From
the moment I met Acel Moore nearly 37 years ago, he encouraged me to reach
for the highest journalistic goals possible. He has always been an advocate for
diversity; inspiring many young journalists along the way. I am
very proud of Acel being selected for this honor. While he continues to inspire
others, he also has been a trailblazer in the industry, setting the standard
for many to follow," said Sandra Long, fellow NABJ Founder and Vice

President/Editorial Product Development for Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com.

Moore
established the Art Peters Fellowship Program, a copy editor internship that
has launched the careers of minority copy editors. He also created the
Journalism Career Development Workshop that has trained dozens of Philadelphia
high school students, and it is named in his honor.

"I
also met him as a young journalist during a conference at Penn State when he
and Founder Les Payne were the keynote speakers. I sat in awe of two black
Pulitzer Prize winners that weekend," said NABJ Vice President-Print
Deirdre M. Childress, who later joined Moore at the Inquirer. "I listened
to them and knew they were the kind of journalists I wanted to be. He has
always reached back to others who have hard lives, and we here at the
Inquirer are so proud to call him ours."

This
summer, Moore will join other top honorees at the Salute to Excellence
Awards, the Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles for Journalist of the Year, and
ESPN's Claire Smith, a former Inquirer sports columnist and
editor who will receive the Legacy Award. The Salute to Excellence Awards
Gala recognizes journalism that best covers the black experience or addresses
issues affecting the worldwide black community.

An
advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest
organization of journalists of color in the nation, and provides educational,
career development and support to black journalists worldwide.